Two years.That was how long it had been since everything changed.Evangeline stepped into the tall glass doors of the tower that now bore her name—well, the name she had carved into existence with blood, ambition, and broken dreams. DHE & Co. SKYVILLE.Once Hunters SKYVILLE.Now hers. Now something reborn.The marble floor gleamed beneath her heels as she walked across the grand lobby. People parted without speaking, her presence always did that now. Reverence. Fear. Curiosity. She had become something whispered about in boardrooms and beauty salons, an enigma with blood in her history and steel in her eyes.Her tailored black suit clung to her like armor. Sharp shoulder lines, open collarbone, clean hair in a low twist. Nothing out of place. Not one damn thing. That’s how she survived.That’s how she kept him buried.As she moved toward the elevator, heads turned. Interns whispered. Executives made themselves smaller. But she didn’t look at any of them.Not when the ache inside her
Evangeline's POVThe silence between Kaia and me had turned gentle. Companionable. There was something sacred about it, the kind of stillness that felt earned after spilling quiet wounds between two women who had barely known each other a week, yet shared scars that was in the same language.But I knew something was definitely off.Kaia’s breath had changed. Slower. Heavier. Like she was preparing herself for something. The kind of pause that comes before you let go of something you’ve buried too long.She sat up straighter, her fingers tightening slightly over the fabric of her dress.I didn’t speak. I just waited. I felt the tension weaving itself back into the room like a net. Like the quiet before a landslide.“I wasn’t completely honest with you earlier,” she said finally.My spine stiffened, but I didn’t interrupt. Her voice had taken on a strange calm like a still lake that might hide something dangerous underneath.“I didn’t mean to lie,” Kaia added, her eyes fixed on the fire
Evangeline's POVI walked towards the room where Kaia had entered earlier and pushed open the door gently. Kaia was still awake. She sat on the bed with her knees drawn to her chest, her arms looped around them like she was holding herself together. Her long black curls spilled across her shoulders, and her eyes were locked on a small pendant in her hand. She didn’t look up immediately, but she knew I was there. I felt her breath catch and release. A silent acknowledgment at least. “I thought you’d be asleep by now,” I said quietly, unsure of how to start. Her gaze shifted to me, calm, unreadable. Then she gave a slight shake of her head. “Sleep doesn’t come easy here.” Her voice was soft and honest. I stood there a moment longer, my fingers brushing the edge of the door, before stepping inside fully and closing it behind me. The room was warm, maybe even too warm. But my body felt cold. I didn’t sit immediately. I took in the space again. The plain bedding. The dresser that sm
Damien's POV I paced the length of my chambers like a caged wolf, the plush rug beneath my bare feet offering no comfort. Night weighed heavily on the fortress, its silence oppressive, but even that was no match for the howl inside me. The beast roared for its mate. Evangeline. I had given her the freedom to leave, to walk away, and she did it. Simple as that. She left, the way you release air from a clenched fist, swift, cold. My promise hung between us: “If you want to leave, go.” I should have expected it, emotion has always been my weakness. Yet still, emptiness clenches my chest. My mind replayed the last hours: her soft skin under my lips, the soft curve of her waist, the urgent, desperate softness of her breasts. The thought burned behind my eyes, weakening my resolve, unraveling me with desire and torment. I couldn’t have her. Until she willed it. That was the rule. But god, how I wanted her anyway. How I ached for the electricity when our bodies pressed together. The
Evangeline's POV Kaia's lips had just parted, her voice trembling with something like truth, something that felt too close to secrets buried too long, when the front door creaked open. I flinched slightly, not because I was startled, no, I had sensed the disturbance moments before but because I had hoped, selfishly, that Kaia would finally finish what she had started to say. The look in her eyes before the interruption was vacant, like a locked door behind, had been enough to warn me: whatever it was, it wouldn’t be easy to hear. “Hey Luna,” Edward’s voice came in, calm and light, carrying with it the smell of grease and cheese and something warm, comforting—pizza. He stepped into the apartment with a small paper bag tucked under one arm and a large pizza box balanced in the other. His smile was soft, friendly, like a breeze trying to enter a room filled with smoke. “You both must be famished,” he said. Kaia’s head snapped toward him, then down at the pizza box. Her eyes widened
Evangeline's POV Before the man could make further statements, another car swerved to a stop right and a huge familiar male got out and almost immediately, the strange man rushed towards his own car and drove off. Edward? I recognized him as he walked closer towards me and stopped then smiled. "Please get in." He ushered towards the car he came with and I nodded with no argument and slid in together with Kaia and in moments, he got in as well and sped off on the road. In few minutes, we arrived in what seemed like a penthouse and he led us in without a word until we were finally inside. I sat heavily in the nearest chair, the soft hum of silence around me feeling heavier than brick. Edward placed a glass of ice water on the small side table without speaking, his movements deliberate, calm. Kaia hovered beside me, her presence a quiet affirmation that I hadn’t completely fallen apart. Edward cleared his throat, setting his expression into that professional neutrality I had s